Monette Newsuan
She released her first full-length CD album, DON\'T LET A DAY GO BY in 2002. Co-produced by her primary musical collaborator Johnny J. Blair, the album runs the gamut from lush orchestrations to minimalist hip-hop grooves. She is currently working on her second CD, \"Free\" produced by Show-E Productions. Stay Tuned!
Musician, Recording Artist, Singer and Raper-Songwriter-Monette Newsuan is all of these in addition to being Pastor’s Wife, Mother and an ordained Minister.
She released her first full-length CD album, DON\'T LET A DAY GO BY in 2002. Co-produced by her primary musical collaborator Johnny J. Blair, the album runs the gamut from lush orchestrations to minimalist hip-hop grooves. She is currently working on her second CD, \"Free\". Stay Tuned!
Ministry is the dominant theme in Monette\'s lyrics, balanced by her joyful expression of constant happiness in the God of all things. The purpose of this CD is to encourage the saved and reach the lost. The Lord brought her out of a four year depression and abusive relationship. God has used her to minister to hurting women. Through her business, \"Esteem Makeovers\", she ministers to women in not only showing them how to enhance their outward beauty, but by showing them their inward beauty and how they are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. She has a strong desire to help women see who they are in Christ and how they can let Him be their everything!
She is passionate about Praise and Worship. Currently a Praise Leader, Monette knows the importance of ushering the people into the presence of God.
She cites singers like CeCe Winans as one of her role models, Pastor Melvin Jenkins and Pastor David Hanson who trained and nurtured her spiritually and musically through her membership to the IUP Voices of Joy Gospel Chior in Indiana, PA., and Minister Linda Wheatley of the Unity Praise & Worship Team as a role model in wisdom and leading Praise & Worship.
Creative exuberance runs in her family, who contributed musical parts to her album. The harmonically-infused r\'n\'b of \"Dance Like David\" came partly from the pen of her brother, rap hero The Rizz. Sister Jeanetta co-wrote and rapped out the bubblegum soul of \"Nobody Like You,\" (Blair calls it \"irresistible ear candy\"). Her mother Jeanette Joyner sang lead on the spiritual \"Satan, We Come to Tear Your Kingdom Down\"-remade with an intimidating wall of metallic guitars, a \"chain gang\" beat and a demon-chasing gospel choir.
A few songs cross into a harder rock mode-from the stinging guitar and spitfire rap of \"Look to the Hills\" to an inspired David Gilmour-style lead on the worshipful \"Our God is an Awesome God\" which was written in the spirit through the awesome Unity Praise and Worship Team led by Minister Linda Wheatley. Most of the guitar playing is by Tim Breon, who brought a Brazilian flavor to the torchy \"Fact Is Truth Is\" and classy Stratocaster to the symphonic jazz of the title song \"Don\'t Let A Day Go By\" (a dedication to her sister, Michelle Dixon Holder). The dance-a-thon \"Victory Victory\" quotes from the visionary 70s house-funk lexicon of James Brown and Miles Davis.
Growing up in Brooklyn, NY exposed Monette to the matrix of sounds that are heard in her songs. She moved with her family to Williamsport PA in 1986 where she finished high school in 1988. She graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors in Human Resource Management in 1992 then returned to Williamsport to settle down and marry Lawrence R. Newsuan, now Pastor of One Accord Christian Ministries in York, PA, an affiliate of Unity Christian Fellowship, Williamsport, PA, under the leadership of Bishop Sidney D. Wheatley. She was actively involved in Youth ministry and Praise and Worship during her years at Unity and was ordained as Minister in September of 2002.
UCF has a very musical congregation, where she and Blair worked in a range of music ministry projects. Besides featuring upbeat and uplifting worship every Sunday, UCF houses a few recording acts--including her friend Adrienne Blanton, who raps on the catchy \"The Lord is Good (Mm Mm Good).\"
Other UCF members such as Deb Wilson, Linda Wheatley, & Cassie Blair contributed instrumentation and vocals to the album. \"This music is a natural extension of everything we do in fellowship,\" says Blair, who has also worked with James Brown\'s Funkmasters, ex-Monkee Davy Jones, singer-songwriter Julie Miller and others.
A few years ago, Pastor Larry furnished Monette with a keyboard, setting her loose in a \"creative zone.\" Song after song flowed out, many of which ended up on the set list for The B.O.M.B. Squad © , (Bombing the Oppressor & Meaning Business, it\'s our Spiritual QUest And Destiny), a \"gospel youth choir\" she founded. Bomb Squad © provides an alternate outlet for Monette\'s material and brings her the enjoyment of working with young people. She is currently working with youth while heading the Milton Hershey School Praise and Worship Team.
Davy Jones named her as one of his favorite gospel singers, adding that he listened to rough mixes of her album \"for two hours straight one night.\" Last December he asked her and the UCF singers to join him onstage at Hershey Arena and Monette lead the song \"Satan, We come to tear your Kingdom down\" before a few thousand people.
She has also been a local favorite to sing on a range of album projects and jingles. Whether engaged in music or ministry, Monette is ready to \"make a joyful noise\" in any venue God provides.